Medieval merriment at SCA event

Wednesday

Mar 11, 2009 at 12:01 AMMar 11, 2009 at 11:20 AM

Saturday was a day in the past, in a “manor” of speaking, as medieval re-enactment enthusiasts gathered at the First Parish of Bolton to dine, dance and, as Queen Elizabeth I might have had it, rejoice in “good company.”

Margaret Smith

Saturday was a day in the past, in a “manor” of speaking, as medieval re-enactment enthusiasts gathered at the First Parish of Bolton to dine, dance and, as Queen Elizabeth I might have had it, rejoice in “good company.”

Downstairs, women, their hips adorned with jingling coin belts, swayed gracefully as they followed teacher Val Kerin in a belly dance class.

Upstairs, friends sat and chatted in flowing robes and tunics.

When a crier announced loudly that a feast would soon commence, the revelers lined up to fill their bowls with falafel, hummus and chic peas.

Afterward, the ensemble Diabolis In Musica played loud, brash tunes as a Gypsy-style dancer, Shekina Shakti, balanced a sword on her head.

It was a day for merriment at the spring “hafla,” or Arabic party, sponsored by the Quintavia shire, or chapter, of the East Kingdom of the Society for Creative Anachronism, commonly known as the SCA.

SCA members are dedicated to re-creating characters, places and events from ancient times to the Renaissance – any historical period before 1600.

A favorite period and region is the so-called high Middle Ages, about 1000 to 1200, in Europe, Middle East and Central Asia.

Even if medieval life could be “nasty, brutish and short,” SCA members say men and women made the most of it despite warfare, plague, and itchy clothing.

“In the winter time, it’s anything to get out of the house,” said Sioux Gerow of Everett, who plays recorder, drums and other instruments for Diabolis In Musica.

The band, which specializes in folk entertainment rather than courtly ballads, performs at King Richard’s Faire in Carver, and at various medieval and Middle Eastern-themed events.

Gerow said the band works to create a genuine sound, but said it’s sometimes necessary to make concessions. Lutes are frightfully expensive, so a guitar will have to suffice, albeit one strung with nylon strings to affect a comparable sound.

“If we use amplification, we try to hide it,” Gerow said.

The band’s name is attributed to Pope Gregory I, a church ruler of the late sixth century, who, it is said, declared some musical harmonies morally bankrupt and therefore, “diabolis in musica” – the devils’ music.

(On balance, Gregory gave the world the exquisite Gregorian chant, which nowadays adorns rap and rock samplings.)

Diabolis In Musica, whose slogan is, “We’re going to party like it’s 1399,” embraces the idea that there has always been music someone somewhere finds objectionable, especially if it’s fun.

Hafla organizer Lisa Miller – known to many in the SCA as “Aleksei,” a Russian warrior – said about 80 SCA members and their family and friends flocked to the hafla, which emphasized a Middle Eastern flavor.

Miller, a Littleton resident, said most SCA members adopt or create an historical character, and it is not unusual for SCA members to know each other by their character names only.

The event drew an overwhelming majority of women and girls, probably because of the emphasis on music, dance and drumming rather than weaponry or armor, as do some SCA events, Miller said.

For her part, Miller said her character is actually a male – a young soldier fighting the Mongolian incursion of the 1200s. “We all invent little back stories for our characters,” Miller said. “I was always kind of a tomboy. Dressing up was never of interest to me.”

Miller said medieval re-enactments tend to attract large numbers of women, partly because of the focus on costumes and crafts, but also because the late Middle Ages was the Age of Chivalry, in which women enjoyed an honored role.

“In the Revolutionary War or Civil War re-enactments, women don’t have as big a role to play,” Miller said.

But can she spin?

Leah Reed, of Newburyport, dressed in a rust red gown, sat spinning while her friend, Yvonne Dawkins, of Worcester, knitted – which they both conceded with a laugh really was anachronistic.

Reed – also known by her Welsh character name, Creiddlyad, said her name – in fact, a nickname, comes from a character in Welsh folklore the time of the plaque – about the 14th century.

Reed said she chose this period because the plague, although devastating, allowed social change that enabled women to assert their property rights and loosened the strict stratification of the early Middle Ages.

“All women were required to do spinning,” said Reed, adding that the craft – which employed a simple drop spindle before the advent of the spinning wheel – allowed women a source of income. It was also a skill that came in handy when the plague created a labor shortage.

Reed, an engineer who designs computer software, feels an affinity for the spinners of a distant time. Her background in biology gives a strong empathy for those who suffered the horrors of the plague.

“To me, it’s about arts and science,” she said of the SCA. “This is the place to meet other people who are ‘gah gah’ about spinning and other arts.”

Days of future past

Some historical researchers complain that SCA members create a distorted perception of period attitudes, events and gender roles.

Miller said, most SCA members put great effort into studying the period from which they draw their characters, but said practical considerations sometimes make it impossible to be completely authentic.

For example, it’s much less costly to sew a tunic of cotton rather than linen or wool, which were the most common fabrics in medieval Europe, and to use plastic arrow quills.

“That is why you call it, ‘creative anachronism,’” Miller said. “We want to make it accessible. We are not going to tell anyone they can’t do that. As long as it looks reasonably accurate.”

To learn more, visit www.eastkingdom.org.

Margaret Smith is Arts and Calendar editor at GateHouse Media New England’s Northwest Unit. E-mail her at msmith@cnc.com.